Jim Goulart

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STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division

Follow Friday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! All times are Central Nashville: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Colorado Springs (Rockies), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the new play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Mississippi (Braves), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page I-Phone friendly audio link Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV subsciption note: A total of 24 Stars' games (in Jacksonville and Tennessee) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: RHP Taylor Jungmann at home vs. St. Lucie (Mets), 5:35 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the St. Lucie feed from the MiLB main audio page Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year. *** Wisconsin: RHP Jacob Barnes at home vs. Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime; RHP Andy Moye will follow in a tandem effort Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too).

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Here's another detailed report (plus audio) from Kyle at BrewCrewBall via his press credentials at Thursday's Rattlers game.

Just guessing that outside of the Appleton Post-Crescent home newspaper coverage (and even they took most of this most recent series off), the Brewers organization may have the weakest newspaper presence in all of MLB among the four full-season teams. Nashville has two papers (the Tennessean and the City Paper) that mainly ignore the club, perhaps five feature stories all season. The Huntsville Times' online presence is so weak that we salivate when their senior columnist Mark McCarter jumps in occasionally to throw us one of his well-crafted stories. And down in Melbourne, Florida Today (which surprised us with some decent stuff in 2011), has yet to file a single feature on this year's Manatees. Here was today's featured photo: Manny the Manatee will entertain fans at tonight’s game in Viera. / FLORIDA TODAY file http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A9&Date=20120511&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=305110030&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Late-surge-stops-short-Manatees *** Fortunately the Helena Independent Record kicks some serious butt with their coverage, so we can look forward to that.

Yet another Hunter Morris HBP update -- did get his hand after all, but appears minor, day-to-day for now.

Brevard County's rally falls short against St. Lucie Brooks Hall fans five in five frames in first start of 2012 By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees VIERA, Fla. - The Brevard County Manatees had the tying run on second base in the ninth inning but were unable to extend the game as their rally fell short in a 4-3 loss to the St. Lucie Mets on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium. Down 4-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Cody Hawn led the inning off with a walk. Then after back-to-back strikeouts by Shawn Zarraga and Mike Walker, Shea Vucinich doubled to left to put runners on second and third. St. Lucie then brought in their closer and former Manatee, Adrian Rosario to try and put out the fire. The first batter he faced was Scott Krieger, who drew a walk to load the bases. Franklin Romero Jr. then stepped up and deposited a single into left field to score both Hawn and Vucinich and cut St. Lucie's lead to 4-3. The rally would end though with Nick Shaw at the plate as he grounded out to second to end the game as Brevard County's record dropped to 7-9 in one-run games. Brooks Hall (0-1, 1.98) got his first start of the season for the 'Tees and had a solid outing as went five innings and allowed one run on three hits. He walked just one and struck out five. That one run allowed came on a two-out double by Blake Forsythe that scored Richard Lucas in the top of the second to give St. Lucie a 1-0 lead. The Manatees (14-20) were unable to push a run across against St. Lucie starter and 2007 MLB All-Star Chris Young. The 32-year-old Major League veteran threw five shutout innings. Brevard County tied the game right away when his replacement, Hamilton Bennett entered the game in the sixth. T.J. Mittelstaedt took the first pitch of the inning from the St. Lucie (27-7) reliever and took it for a ride over the right field fence for a solo homer, his third of the season. Brandon Williamson (0-2, 4.76) relieved Hall in the sixth and in the seventh the Mets scored two runs on him on two hits and an error to take a 3-1 lead. Mets designated hitter Daniel Muno added an insurance run as he took Williamson deep for a solo shot with two outs in the top of the ninth. The 'Tees will look to earn a split in their four-game set with St. Lucie as the series wraps up on Friday night at 6:35 PM (5:35 Central). 2011 first round draft pick Taylor Jungmann (2-3, 2.93) will toe the rubber for Brevard County. Jungmann is in search for his first victory since April 10. St. Lucie will send righty Cory Mazzoni (3-0, 3.00) to the bump. The Mets drafted Mazzoni in the second round of the 2011 draft and Baseball America lists him as Mets' 13th ranked prospect. In his first start of the 2012 season, Brooks Hall went five innings and allowed one run on three hits, while striking out five. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography) http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/10/XEWa3pqD.jpg

Another stellar game summary from the best staff in the business in Nashville. I did mention to them there was no love within it, however, for Johnnie Lowe's three shutout innings, and Johnnie and his 0.00 ERA will now get a special section within tonight's media notes instead .

Sounds Walk Off Against Sox On Patterson Bunt Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Corey Patterson's two-out drag bunt single plated Eric Farris with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning and gave the Nashville Sounds a dramatic 4-3 victory over Colorado Springs on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. Nashville (11-22) recorded its second straight last at-bat win and sixth overall last at-bat triumph of the year. After the Sounds blew a 3-2 lead in the top of the frame, Farris got things started in the home half of the ninth with a one-out single to center off Sky Sox reliever Edgmer Escalona then promptly stole second, his team-leading ninth theft of the year in 11 attempts. After Martin Maldonado advanced Farris to third with a groundout, Patterson stepped into the batter's box and laid down a perfectly-executed bunt to the right of the mound on the first offering he saw from the right-hander, netting the game-winner in walkoff fashion (audio). Colorado Springs third baseman Brendan Harris put the visitors on the board with a two-out solo homer off Sounds starter Mark Rogers in the top of the first inning. The blast to left was the infielder's second big fly of the year. The Sounds tied the contest at 1-1 in the home half of the first when Logan Schafer led off with a single against Sky Sox starter Rob Scahill and later scored on Sean Halton's bases-loaded sacrifice fly. Farris kept the game deadlocked in the top of the third when his diving, over-the-shoulder catch of a two-out Brandon Wood blooper in shallow right field left the bags full of Sky Sox (audio). The Sounds pulled ahead, 2-1, in the fourth on their second sacrifice fly of the night. With runners on the corners and one out, Maldonado lifted a fly ball to right field that plated Halton from third just before Farris was doubled off first as the Sky Sox completed a rare sacrifice fly double play. Colorado Springs evened the game in the fifth against Rogers. Ex-Sound Hernan Iribarren drew a leadoff walk and stole second, moving to third on the play when Maldonado's throw to second one-hopped the bag and caromed off shortstop Jeff Bianchi's knee into right field. D.J. LeMahieu followed with an RBI infield single. Nashville took the lead with an unearned run against rehabbing Sky Sox hurler Josh Outman in the bottom of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Erick Almonte led off with a single up the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Outman threw a ball in the dirt which eluded catcher Wil Nieves, who recovered to make a throw back to the plate as Almonte raced home. However, Outman dropped the ball, allowing Almonte to score the go-ahead run for a 3-2 Nashville lead (audio). Colorado Springs evened the contest once again with an unearned run of their own in the top of the ninth against Sounds reliever Mike McClendon (2-2), who suffered a blown save but backed into the win following the late Sounds rally. Pinch-hitter Matt McBride hit a high chopper to third base to open the frame and reached when Hainley Statia booted the ball, was sacrificed to second on a first-pitch bunt by Iribarren, and scored when LeMahieu followed with a first-pitch, game-tying RBI single to center. Statia singled in the fourth inning to extend the Sounds' longest active hitting streak to six games. The infielder has hit safely in nine of his last 10 contests. The teams wrap up the series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Friday evening. Right-hander Wily Peralta (1-2, 3.55), the Brewers' top prospect, takes the hill for the Sounds to face Colorado Springs right-hander Edgar Gonzalez (1-1, 4.91).

Lots of buzz (pun intended) about moths in pitcher's ears last night from the Huntsville game. Following the player's twitter list thread, it seems like R.J. Seidel may have been the big victim. Pretty fun stuff from a team obviously in a good mood despite the long middle of the night bus ride home.

Fortunately, looks to be a standard double-switch to allow Johnnie Lowe to go multiple innings. *** FYI, Hunter Morris' Huntsville HBP departure appears to be precautionary, Alex Cohen wasn't able to tell if he was hit directly in the back or whether it got Hunter's elbow first.

Cream City Cables interviews RHP Tommy Toledo CCC: I saw your dad the following day sitting behind home plate wearing the University of Toledo Sweatshirt. TT: Yeah, my dad is a trip. He loves it. He loves everything about baseball, so he’s been following everybody on the team. *** That's awesome.

Nashville is also knotted 2-2 late, in the 9th, (so we'll give Jeff some audio love as well, it's 9:55 Central); anyway, it's nice to see some things never change: Col. Springs Top of the 8th Tommy Field singles on a line drive to center fielder Logan Schafer. Chad Tracy lines out to left fielder Corey Patterson. Brandon Roberts walks. Tommy Field to 2nd. Wil Nieves grounds into double play, first baseman Sean Halton to shortstop Jeff Bianchi to pitcher Johnnie Lowe. Brandon Roberts out at 2nd.

Not sure exactly how the professional scouting dept. works in suggesting White Sox castoff Johnnie Lowe to Reid Nichols and Doug Melvin, but the dude has had a sweet run in his first taste of AAA. Kudos, scouting staff.

Hunter Morris left the Stars game tonight, he had been hit by a pitch, hopefully more details later on. Morris played defense after the HBP for one inning (the 6th), but then departed.

It's a 2-2 tie as the 7th inning stretch takes place in Jackson, TN (9:20 Central Time). You know you want to listen to Alex guide the Stars to a win for first place in the division. Here's your audio

RHP Wily Peralta on Nashville Sports Radio today A pretty darn entertaining twelve minutes, actually...

Audio from Nashville — “Talking (Brew) Crew with Craig (Counsell)” Jeff Hem's note -- Tonight’s interview is with Craig Counsell, a 15-year major league veteran who retired after last season and now works in the Brewers’ front office under Doug Melvin. He is in town for a few days to watch the Sounds as he makes his way around the Brewers farm system.

1B Nick Ramirez transferred from Helena roster to Wisconsin IF Adrian Williams placed on Wisconsin DL retroactive to 5/8 The 21-year-old Williams, out of UCLA, has been the Rattlers' 25th man with limited playing time, but this seems a move out of convenience, rather than injury. Regardless, it's nice to see Ramirez is ready for action after the hamate surgery. You might say one of the reasons for the Rattlers' success thus far is continuity in the lineup, but there's little chance Ramirez' arrival will hurt things at all.

Huntsville Media Notes *** Wisconsin Media Notes

SS Tommy Manzella formally assigned to Huntsville, filling their open roster spot. Thankfully, Jeff Bianchi will get to continue to try an impress with AAA Nashville.

Bump, that last post and link within it above still applies, obviously lots of folks added since February. The roster of members on the list